A very lovely read, not only considering Jarvis’ wonderful insights into the songs – all collected at the back of the book – but for the weirdness of reading the lyrics while not listening to the song ...continue

A very lovely read, not only considering Jarvis’ wonderful insights into the songs – all collected at the back of the book – but for the weirdness of reading the lyrics while not listening to the songs (which goes against the Cocker ethos of never simultaneously reading the lyrics whilst listening).

An indie-and-pop-loving child of the 90s, I engulfed “Different Class” when it came out in all its forms, even bought some Pulp deluxes, but this volume speaks heaps. It’s nicely formatted, and reading the lyrics when shaped like they are in this book, serifed with completely different formatting than in the album sleeves, brings them to life again.

And there’s more to just Pulp here, songs that he’s written for his solo albums as well as for Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marianne Faithfull, including short essays and a short one from Relaxed Muscle, his very short musical project.

All in all: a nice read, with terrific insights into Sheffield culture, the place that spawned Cocker and influenced his songs a lot.